Hawk

ABSTRACT

A hawk adapted to hold a supply of material such as mortar for delivery onto a material receiving surface is disclosed. The hawk includes a base member having opposed upper and lower surfaces. The base member is provided with a front wall which includes an arcuate surface merging with the upper surface of the base member and being upturned therefrom. Separate side walls are connected with respective first and second sides of the base member and front wall. Thus, a material containing reservoir is defined by the upper surface of the base member and the arcuate surface of the front wall, in the zone intermediate the side walls. A handle is provided on the bottom surface of the base member for holding the hawk.

United States Patent [191 Morsilli [451 Feb. 5, 1974 HAWK [76] Inventor: Frank Peter Morsilli, James St., Orchard Acres, Greenville, R.I.

22 Filed: Jan. 12,1973

21 Appl. No.: 325,944

[52] US. Cl. 294/35, 15/257.06 [51] Int. Cl. E04g 21/16 [58] Field of Search 294/35, 55; 15/257 R, 257.05,

Weesner 294/35 X Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Assistant Examiner-Johnny D. Cherry Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Burnett W. Norton [5 7] ABSTRACT A hawk adapted to hold a supply of material such as mortar for delivery onto a material receiving surface is disclosed. The hawk includes a base member having opposed upper and lower surfaces. The base member is provided with a front wall which includes an arcuate surface merging with the upper surface of the base member and being upturned therefrom. Separate side walls are connected with respective first and second sides of the base member and front wall. Thus, a material containing reservoir is defined by the upper surface of the base member and the arcuate surface of the front wall, in the zone intermediate the side walls. A handle is provided on the bottom surface of the base member for holding the hawk.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures HAWK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for holding a supply of material such as mortar, plaster, stucco, sand base paint or the like and relates, more particularly, to such a device configured as a reservoir for holding a supply of material for ready delivery onto a receiving surface.

For convenience of expression the term mortar is employed throughout this specification. It is to be understood that this term, as used herein, is intended to include not only mortar per se, but plaster, stucco, sand base paints and like materials which have the general characteristics of mortar.

In the cement and plastering arts it is well known for the artisan to utilize a hawk for holding the mortar which he is applying to a surface such as a wall or ceiling. These prior art hawks commonly are constructed as a flat plate having a handle connected to the lower side thereof. The artisan holds the hawk by the handle and carries a supply of mortar on the horizontally held. plate. With the use of considerable proficiency gained only after long experience the artisan is able to load his trowel with a supply of mortar on the hawk and apply the mortar to his work surface without substantial spillage from the hawk. Nevertheless, considerable amounts of mortar do fall off the wall or ceiling simply because of the fluid nature of the mortar coupled with the fact that the artisan normally trowels the mortar over a sizable surface. in the course of his application of the material. In present. practice this mortar which falls off the work surface lands on the floor and is discarded. Obviously, the foregoing practice is deficient in a number of respects, including the requirement that artisans of considerable skill are required to achieve any significant degree of success in applying mortar and, further, even such skilled artisans will waste a certain amount of mortar due to spillage from the hawk and dripping of the material from the surface being mortared.

- Furthermore, in use with the relatively free flowing vinyl copolymer materials being used in construction today prior art hawks are wholly inappropriate since the material simply flows off the hawk before any use at all can be made of the material even by the highly skilled.

With the foregoing in mind, it is one object of the present invention to provide a new an improved hawk.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a hawk adapted for use by relatively unskilled personnel.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a hawk which is readily adapted for use in applying mortar to a work surface while precluding the loss of any significant amounts of mortar during such application.

Yet, another object of the invention is to provide a hawk providing a mortar-containing reservoir from which the mortar can be removed by a trowel for application to a work surface while the hawk is held in contact with the work surface to catch any mortar dripping therefrom.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved hawk of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view illustrating one mode of utilizing the invention in applying mortar to a vertical wall;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating another mode of employing the invention in applying mortar to a horizontal ceiling; and

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With attention now to FIG. 1 of the drawing the improved hawk of the present invention is depicted. The hawk as illustrated may be constructed of any suitable material consistent with its use in holding a supply of mortar and, without intending to be limiting in any way, such materials may include wood, non-oxidizing metal or plastic. The hawk includes a base member 10 upturned at one of its ends which, for convenience here, will be called its forward end to thereby provide a wall 12. Base member 10 is a flat member providing a smooth floor 14 on its upper surface and having a lower surface 16 which mounts a flange 18 for purposes to be discussed hereinafter. The forward or uppermost end of wall 12 is formed as a straight edge 20 adapted to be held in contact with a wall, ceiling or other surface to which the mortar is being applied. If desired, a resilient lip formed of rubber, flexible plastic or the like could be attached to edge 20 to engage the work surface to which the mortar is being applied.

As best seen in FIG. 2 the terminating edge 20 of wall 12 lies at an obtuse angle to the floor 14 of base member 10. This angle, represented in FIG. 2 by the letter a, while not critical in and of itself should, nevertheless, be not less than and, desirably, greater than ninety degrees from floor 14 to facilitate the engagement of edge 20 with a work surface and permit the easy removal of mortar from floor 14, over the interior arcuate surface 22 of wall 12 and onto the work surface. Further, as seen in FIG. 1, floor 14 and surface 22 should blend into a continuous, uninterrupted surface over which a trowel can be moved to pick up the desired quantity of mortar. One means of achieving such an uninterrupted surface is to fabricate the base member 10 and arcuate front wall 12 from a single piece of material, although it will be apparent that the objective of the single smooth surface as now discussed could be achieved by providing base member 10 and front wall 12 as separate elements, joining the two parts together by welding or otherwise.

Sidewalls 24 and 26 are provided along the opposite edges of base member 10 and the forward wall 12. Sidewalls 24 and 26 may be positioned at right angles. to floor 14 or they may be slightly angled in an inward or outward direction. By angling these walls as just mentioned a plurality of these hawks could be conveniently nested, say, for shipment. As is most evident in FIGS. 1-4 these side walls 24 and 26 are somewhat triangular in longitudinal configuration and are integrally connected with the respective edges of the base member 10 and wall 12 to prevent the escape of mortar from the side edges of member 10 and wall 12. The forward section of each wall 2 and 26 is relatively wide with the upper end of each forward section terminating in alignment with edge 20. In contrast thereto the opposite or rear end section of each wall is shaped essentially as a point terminating generally in the plane of the rear end of base member ll), i.e., the end of the base member opposite from front wall 12. Thus, a relatively deep portion is provided on floor 14 intermediate walls 24 and 26 for holding mortar.

With further consideration to the rear end of base member 10, it will be observed that this end is open or unwalled and is formed as a straight edge 28, in the same manner as edge 20 previously mentioned. By this configuration, and as will be explained more fully hereinafter, mortar may be delivered from the hawk either over edge 20 or edge 28.

It has already been mentioned that the lower surface 16 of base member 10 is provided with a flange 18 which is securely affixed thereto. As best seen in FIG. 2 this flange has a tapped hole 30 centrally therethrough. A handle 32 is provided which has a threaded shank 34 at the upper end thereof. This threaded shank 34 is mated with the threads in hole 32 to thereby provide a means by which the hawk can be manually held. A ring 36 of sponge rubber or the like has a hole centrally therethrough. This ring 36 may be forced over handle 32 and abut up against flange 18 to thereby provide a comfortable surface against which the artisans hand can bear as he holds the hawk. Handle 32 is so positioned that it is at the center of the load provided by the hawk and the mortar therein and is mounted so that it depends generally at a right angle from the lower surface 16 of base member 10.

In practice with the present invention, and by way of example only, let it be assumed that a hawk constructed in accordance with the present invention, and being made of aluminum with an interior width of about 13 V2 inches and an interior length of 14 inches is to be utilized. Further, assume that the radius of curvature of surface 22 is' 3 inches and angle a is such that edge 20 is approximately forward of an imagin'ary line perpendicular to floor 14. A conventional trowel of 100 ll inches in length and 4 a inches wide may be assumed as the mortar applying tool. Mortar is loaded into the hawk to provide a comfortable supply which can be manually supported by the artisan. Obviously, the level to which the mortar is loaded into the hawk can be varied and will depend not only on its weight, but also on its consistency. The hawk is then positioned as shown in FIG. 3 with the straight edge 20 in contact with the vertical wall W or with the fresh layer L of mortar being applied thereto and with the hawk slightly inclined toward the wall. The trowel is then manually manipulated so as to be loaded with an appropriate supply of the mortar in the hawk, the trowel being glided in one sweeping motion over the mortar on floor 14, up surface 22 and onto wall W. The user does not have to concern himself with the thought that the mortar may flow or slide off the sides of the hawk during the afore-described stroke, nor does he need to be possessed of extensive expertise in applying all the mortar on the trowel to the wall before the mortar falls away. In the event of such loss, and assuming that the user holds the hawk below the work surface, the falling mortar will simply fall into the hawk for reuse.

A further feature of the invention resides in the fact that it can be employed to deliver mortar over edge 20 or 28. Thus, in FIG. 4 the hawk is illustrated in a typical use applying mortar to a ceiling C or similar horizontal surface supported by brackets 40. Here, edge 28 of the hawk is placed against ceiling C or the fresh layer L of mortar being applied thereto. Again, as described in connection with FIG. 3 a sweeping motion of a trowel over arcuate surface 22 and along the mortar on floor 14 is employed to deliver the mortar onto the ceiling with falling mortar being caught in the hawk.

Another feature of the hawk of the present invention resides in the fact that it can be used in the same manner as prior art hawks, if desired, while providing many of the advantages already brought forth therein. That is, the hawk can be utilized to hold a supply of mortar with the artisan holding the hawk away from the work surface while applying the mortar thereto. Yet, because of the unique construction of this invention, the mortar will not slide off floor 14 as may occur with the prior art devices.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present in vention provides a novel and advantageous device for containing a supply of mortar, whatever its viscosity, and permitting application of this mortar to a work surface while capturing fresh mortar falling off the work surface for reuse. The invention admits if use by relatively unskilled or unexperienced persons, leads to substantially dripless application of mortar and contributes to increased productivity by permitting faster application of mortar.

Since certain changes may be made in the abovedescribed device without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or contained in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative only, and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A hawk adapted to contain a supply of material such as mortar for delivery onto a material receiving surface comprising, a base member having a smooth and flat material supporting upper surface and a lower surface, said base member being provided with a front wall having an arcuate surface merging with said upper surface and being upturned therefrom, said arcuate surface terminating in a first flat and relatively thin straight edge, said first edge being adapted to be held in contact with said material receiving surface to form substantially a seal with said surface to thereby preclude portions of the material being applied to said surface and falling toward said first edge from passing below said first edge and thereby causing said material portions to pass onto said upper surface, a second flat and relatively thin straight edge formed at the opposite end of said base member from said front wall, said second edge being adapted to be held in contact with said material receiving surface to form substantially a seal with said surface to thereby preclude portions of the material being applied to said surface and falling toward said second edge from passing below said second edge and thereby causing said material portions to pass onto said upper surface, first and second sidewalls connected with respective first and second sides of said base member and front wall, said first and second side walls extending from said second edge to said front wall and projecting generally vertically upward a substantial height the full distance between said second edge and said front wall, said side walls being wider proximate to said front wall than proximate to said second edge to thereby provide a relatively deep portion proximate to said front wall, a material containing reservoir being thereby defined by said upper surface and arcuate surface intermediate said side walls and said first and second edges, and handle means connected to and positioned generally centrally on the lower surface of said base member and extending at substantially a right angle to said base member for holding said hawk.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second side walls are inclined outwardly from said base member.

3. A device as set forth in claim. 1 wherein said first and second side walls are inclined inwardly from said base member.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said straight edge of said arcuate surface is positioned in a plane inclined forwardly from said base member.

5. A device as set forth in claim I wherein said handle includes a threaded portion, and including means connected to the lower surface of said base member for engaging said threaded portion to secure said handle to said base portion.

6. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second side walls are positioned at right angles to said base member. 

1. A hawk adapted to contain a supply of material such as mortar for delivery onto a material receiving surface comprising, a base member having a smooth and flat material supporting upper surface and a lower surface, said base member being provided with a front wall having an arcuate surface merging with said upper surface and being upturned therefrom, said arcuate surface terminating in a first flat and relatively thin straight edge, said first edge being adapted to be held in contact with said material receiving surface to form substantially a seal with said surface to thereby preclude portions of the material being applied to said surface and falling toward said first edge from passing below said first edge and thereby causing said material portions to pass onto said upper surface, a second flat and relatively thin straight edge formed at the opposite end of said base member from said front wall, said second edge being adapted to be held in contact with said material receiving surface to form substantially a seal with said surface to thereby preclude portions of the material being applied to said surface and falling toward said second edge from passing below said second edge and thereby causing said material portions to pass onto said upper surface, first and second side walls connected with respective first and second sides of said base member and front wall, said first and second side walls extending from said second edge to said front wall and projecting generally vertically upward a substantial height the full distance between said second edge and said front wall, said side walls being wider proximate to said front wall than proximate to said second edge to thereby provide a relatively deep portion proximate to said front wall, a material containing reservoir being thereby defined by said upper surface and arcuate surface intermediate said side walls and said first and second edges, and handle means connected to and positioned generally centrally on the lower surface of said base member and extending at substantially a right angle to said base member for holding said hawk.
 2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second side walls are inclined outwardly from said base member.
 3. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second side walls are inclined inwardly from said base member.
 4. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said straight edge of said arcuate surface is positioned in a plane inclined forwardly from said base member.
 5. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said handle includes a threaded portion, and including means connected to the lower suRface of said base member for engaging said threaded portion to secure said handle to said base portion.
 6. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said first and second side walls are positioned at right angles to said base member. 